Drop the dumpling strips into the boiling liquid. Repeat with remaining dough.īring the broth back to a boil. Slice the dough lengthwise into 1/2-inch-wide strips, then cut cross-wise into pieces 4 inches long. Take the first portion and roll out into a thin rectangle. Turn the dough out onto a generously floured board and divide in half. Stir just enough to combine, then knead with clean hands until evenly mixed. Add the oil and stir to coat the flour, then add the water and beaten eggs. Put the flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl and whisk to blend. When chicken is cool enough to handle, pull the meat from the bone in small pieces and set aside (discard bones, skin, and other waste). When the chicken is done, transfer it to a cutting board, leaving the broth and bay leaves in the pot. Reduce heat to low, partially cover, and very gently simmer until the chicken is cooked through, about 1 hour. Cover, set over high heat, and bring to a boil. Cover with about ½ inch of water and add onion, bay leaves, butter, salt, and pepper. It's dumplings, so I consider it sort of complicated (I've never successfully made dumplings, but maybe this will be the recipe for me).ġ-1/2 tablespoons table salt, plus more to tasteġ/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste This is Yankee magazine's version (adapted from the Farmer's Almanac) In Body at Buccaneer Bay, Ellery's dad has a bowl of New England style chicken and dumplings at the charming Seacrest Inn, and that just looked (in my imagination) so delicious and comforting, I thought I'd hunt down a good recipe we can all try this winter. (Sorry if that's a lump of coal in the midst of the festivities.) I'm not about to take any chances with that. The important thing (for me, anyway) is I'm not only writing again, I'm enjoying writing again. I'm sticking to my pledge to work at a sane and reasonable pace from here on out. I can't risk another burn out like the last one. But I'm afraid to make promises right now. It's the next book up, and I am researching and roughing out the outline, so it's going to happen.

It's going to take however long it takes.

I literally just finished Body at Buccaneer Bay. The less good news is I have to tell you straight up, there's no way in hell I can finish The Movie-Town Murders for that Amazon January 4th release. Body at Buccaneer Bay is finished and safely uploaded everywhere for its December 18th release ( pssst! It's actually already live on Barnes and Noble! Pilot error. So that ought to do it for the holiday prep. I just purchased my final holiday gift, baked a batch of chocolate cupcakes, and I'm working on a couple of holiday codas. The 16th of December! Can you believe it? Good Lord.

Body at Buccaneer's Bay by Josh Lanyon